I often receive questions from chess players of various levels on which are the Best Chess Book . The theme is so important that led me to record an Online Lecture exclusively on the best chess books ever written.
At the time I wrote a simple article with the list of those I considered the seven best books in the history of chess. I decided to re-edit the article, including six works which in my opinion are the most appropriate to help his training.
Chess is a subject in which l lot has been written and obviously a list of the best works is very personal. My list actually represents the books I read and that helped to shape my personality as a player. The order in which the books appear in this article is random and does not reflect a ‘ranking’. Choosing the best is already very difficult, let alone put them in order of importance.
1. Collection School of Chess Excellence (Dvoretsky)
Excellent collection, composed of 5 books, aimed at advanced players (above 2300 FIDE rating). My favorites are volumes 1 (about endgame play – it contains spectacular positions that showed me, when I studied as a teenager the old version of the book, how chess can be complex) and 2 (tactics, including my favorite position: Tal – Portisch). Some positions can lead even grandmasters to tears, such the degree of difficulty. But the road to mastery is hard!
2. Yusupov Collection (Build / Boost / Chess Evolution)
In my opinion this Yusupov series revolutionized the study of chess players from basic to intermediate levels. It addresses all important issues for chess development and places emphasis on the most important: decision-making. The theoretical exposition is always short and the reader is asked to solve a series of exercises. All books from this series are recommended! I have three in my library and I can say that many positions are interesting even to grandmaster level.
3. My 60 Most Memorable Games (Bobby Fischer)
Classic of classics. I’m lucky to have a Portuguese version in my library. In addition to been written by one of the best chess players of all time, the book has an extremely honest selection of games – both losses and draws are included. It is interesting to compare the analysis of Fischer, made in the late 60’s, with powerful modern analysis engines. Or, better yet, compare Bobby’s analysis with Kasparov’s, published in Volume 4 of the “Great Predecessors” series.
4. Candidates Tournament – Zurich 53 (Bronstein)
The famous book of the 1953 Candidates Tournament, won by Smyslov, has analysis of all games and is a fantastic way to improve our understanding of the game. Comments are extremely didactic, with many words and few variations. This is the favorite book of many of the best chess players in the world. Great for those moments when we want to leap through a few games without much “stress”.
5. Secrets of Grandmaster Play (Nunn)
A not so well known book but which greatly helped me improve my understanding and calculation. At the time of writing British GM John Nunn was the best chess author. Recommended to advanced players, especially those who want to improve their play with the initiative. I have great memories of several afternoons studying Nunn’s games. My favorites: Nunn – Miles and Polugaevsky – Nunn.